The conventional way of installing an instrument panel and the various components associated with the instrument panel is to install them separately. This requires a person to install each individual part from a position inside a car body and is very time consuming.
In accordance with the present invention, an instrument panel assembly is made up of an instrument panel, various components or instruments associated with the instrument panel, and an elongated reinforcing bar to which the instrument panel and components are connected. All of these parts are preassembled outside the car body and then the assembly is introduced as a unit into the car body and attached.
The reinforcing bar has brackets at the ends which are conveniently placed to engage side frame members of the vehicle by a simple forward movement of the instrument panel assembly. The brackets are readily accessible to the installer and can be secured to the side frame members by fasteners in a very simple and speedy operation. Since the instrument panel is preassembled, the working time within the vehicle is reduced to a minimum. When the instrument panel assembly is installed, the reinforcing bar, which extends from one side of the vehicle to the other, serves as a brace to resist the effect of a side impact on the vehicle in a collision.
The reinforcing bar preferably is a tubular member of relatively thin wall construction which is sufficiently strong in compression to brace the car body in the event of a side impact, but which allows the bar to bend and deflect and thus cushion the reaction force on the driver when the driver is thrown forward against the steering wheel in a frontal impact. Preferably, the reinforcing bar has crush-inducing formations which also contribute to the ability of the bar to bend and deflect in the event of a frontal impact.
The brackets at the ends of the reinforcing bar have flanges which are attached to side frame members of the vehicle by suitable fasteners extending through openings in the flanges. The fastener openings in one of the flanges on the driver's side are slotted openings which open laterally outwardly through the outer edges of the flange so that the flange can pull away from the fasteners in the event of a vehicle frontal impact when the driver is thrown forwardly against the instrument panel assembly. This allows for increased deflection and bending of the reinforcing bar and cushioning of the reaction force against the driver's chest.
Washers, preferably of anti-friction material, may be placed between one of the bracket arms and the heads of the fasteners in the slotted openings therein so that the bracket may more readily pull away from the fasteners in a frontal impact.
Preferably, the reinforcing bar is provided with additional mounting bracket arms which extend forwardly of the reinforcing bar and attach to rigid vehicle frame structure. These additional bracket arms are preferably formed with upsets and/or cut-outs of a crush-inducing nature so that they will crush or crumple under impact and thus have a further cushioning effect.
Preferably, an elongated shake brace is provided to stabilize the steering column during normal operation of the vehicle. This shake brace preferably extends generally in a fore and aft direction and is provided with a crush-inducing formation intermediate its length to promote bending or crushing in response to the effect of a vehicle frontal impact.
One object of this invention is to provide a reinforced instrument panel assembly having the foregoing features.
Another object is to provide a reinforced instrument panel assembly which is composed of a relatively few simple parts, is rugged and durable in use, and is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and easy to install.
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent as the following description proceeds, especially when considered with the accompanying drawings.